Palestinian fashion designer offers a twist on tradition

JERUSALEM: Palestinian fashion designer Natalie Tahhan is hard at work in her Jerusalem studio, replacing the painstaking processes of cross-stitching and embroidery with a laptop computer and printed fabric.

Taking inspiration from traditional Palestinian patterns, Tahhan designs patterns digitally and then has them printed on satins and silks before piecing together her garments.

Her modern take on generations-old designs has attracted a keen following both locally and abroad, particularly in the Gulf, where she sells her clothes via the web.

“I wanted to do something new, modern, never seen on the market,” the 27-year-old said, as she measured out fabric at her studio in her family home in Ras Al-Amud, east Jerusalem.

Palestinians have for centuries painstakingly sewn long black dresses and adorned them with red embroidery, in designs still worn today in rural areas and at marriages and other celebrations.

The designs vary from region to region and tend to say something about the wearer.

“We can tell where the woman who wears it is from and if she is married or single,” Tahhan said.

Several young Arab designers have sought to modernize traditional wear and bring the dresses of their ancestors — an increasingly rare sight today — to a new generation.

Tahhan, who studied in Doha and at the London College of Fashion, is among the few to do so in Jerusalem. She believes she is the only one to have abandoned traditional embroidery for her new method.

As the Palestinian territories lack the equipment she needs, she has her fabrics printed in Dubai.

They are then delivered to Jerusalem via Qatar and Jordan to circumvent the lack of direct shipments from the Gulf countries to Israel and the Palestinian territories.

Maha Saca, director of the Palestine Heritage Center in the occupied West Bank city of Bethlehem, says she supports efforts to breathe new life into traditional designs.

“Adding Palestinian motifs to modern wear is very important. It means we can wear a modern dress with Palestinian embroidery on it,” she said.

The center, established in 1991, boasts the largest collection of traditional Palestinian dresses.